TK TrichoKare Award-Winning Hair & Scalp Treatment

Not too long ago I had the chance to pop by TK TrichoKare - an award-winning hair & scalp care centre. Now as someone with very long hair, I often get asked how I maintain it, whether I intend to cut it & so on so forth. And well, no I do not intend to cut my hair. It is now down to the top of my butt & I am planning to grow it beyond that! Naturally keeping my hair healthy is pretty important to me & I think it's often forgotten that luscious hair stems from a healthy scalp.

So when TrichoKare invited me to experience their new Advanced Age Defying Hair Treatment, I was definitely down for it! I was glad to know that the treatment is customised based on my hair & scalp condition. This treatment focuses on fighting the 5 main signs of ageing hair:

Thinning Hair // Grey Hair // Dryness

Brittleness // Lacklustre Hair

Thankfully they have 5 outlets conveniently located near MRT stations all around Singapore & I headed to the one at Novena!

You can find them at:

Compass One // Nex // Orchard Gateway // Clementi Mall // Velocity @ Novena

So frankly I'm sure we've all heard of TrichoKare in some form or another but did you know that they've won numerous awards? They have a great track record in proving how effective TrichoKare can be when it comes to preventing hair fall & hair loss, as well as promoting healthy hair growth.

Their team of certified Trichologists continuously innovate to create new & improved treatments incorporating premium European herbs to promote hair growth.

Getting my scalp scanned!

I was quite excited for this because y'know... wanna see how my scalp compares #competitive

Getting the hair follicle growth cycle explained to me!

And at first I thought those light-coloured hairs were a defect - like the start of a grey/white hair, but the therapist told me that's just my natural colour. I sometimes forget I have non-Asian blood haha. I mean my hair colour pretty much looks like everyone else's!

So that's what a scan of your scalp will look like at the beginning. Essentially everyone's scalp tends to be ageing at a faster rate because of our lifestyles, stress level, environmental factors, lack of care... etc etc. So some people's scalp age can be more than 5 years older than their actual age! Thankfully mine was...

1 year older

I'm currently 27 years old & my scalp was deemed to be 28 years old.

The Trichologist pointed out certain problem areas - I have a slightly sensitive scalp as well as dry flakes & oil clogging up my pores, which will affect hair growth. So it was definitely time to cleanse my scalp!

First up - Scalp Purification Masque

This detoxifying mask was customised based on my scalp condition! It helps to deeply cleanse the hair & scalp by removing impurities & excess sebum. At the same time, it also regulates & soothes the scalp to reduce redness. The entire masking takes up to 20 minutes to allow my scalp to detox & absorb the nutrients.

Deep Cleansing Herbal Wash

What's a visit for hair treatment without an awesome hair wash right? This herbal wash helps to remove all the grime & dead skin cells, as well as regulate the pH balance of the scalp to allow new hair to grow unimpeded.

Next up was the Oxyjet Technology - a new innovation that uses air pressure jets which are an infusion of 98% pure oxygen & nutrients to "shoot" deep into the layers of your scalp.

The active ingredients are able to penetrate deep into the scalp without needles, which means it is gentle & safe! It helps to improve blood circulation & encourage the production of collagen, which in turn improves hair growth & control hair fall.

This treatment actually felt really comfortable because you experience a cooling sensation on your scalp!

Infrared Therapy - last but not least, this step promotes intensive regeneration & encourages cell renewal to stimulate hair growth, all while soothing your scalp.

After the 2-hour long pampering treatment, we took a look at my scalp again & the comparison definitely speaks for itself!

In the Before image you can spot oil clogs & sebum build-up, but these are gone in the After scan – where my scalp is visibly cleaner & clearer! This is definitely something quite difficult to achieve at home. Overwashing or washing too vigorously could aggravate the oil glands & damage your scalp further, so nothing beats a good detox & cleansing session with TrichoKare. Definitely satisfied with the results!

We invest in many things - our skin, nails etc, but often forget about our scalp, which needs a little TLC as well! And with TrichoKare's generous promotion, there's no better time:

Get the Advanced Age Defying Hair Treatment at just S$40 nett, inclusive of a HairGRO Ampoule + Hair Care Kit (U.P. S$758)!

You'll get to go through the same treatment I did above & see the difference for yourself! Here are the benefits you'll be able to look forward to:

Scalp Detox // Strengthen Hair Roots // Increase Hair Density

Restore Lustre // Moisturise & Soften Hair // Reverse Grey Hair

Click below to find out more & start your own haircare & scalp journey!

http://tk-hair.com/brt/

Tangs Island Cafe

Met up with Sherry & Rachel some time back to check out the Island Cafe at Tangs!

The last time I went up Tangs, I was a little girl & it used to be quite an ordinary restaurant.

I'm loving the new beach-resort feel!

Anyhow, Sherry & Rachel are my friends from St Margaret's, meaning I've known them since I was in Secondary 3... way back in 2005! Good lord, that's over a decade ago. Way to feel old wtf.

I actually really like the modern resort feel & it's something I'd consider for my own home, especially the living area. Think I'd go for modern/industrial with lots of greenery! That's the idea, but I actually have no green thumbs whatsoever hahahaha #fakeplants.

I had some form of Ayam Penyet or something, which was not bad. But like most locals I think it feels odd to pay $20ish for a local dish that I can get in more "authentic" settings at maybe $4.

And these pictures below were all taken by Rachel's iPhone 7 Plus.

The detail was amazing! It's pretty much what got me seriously interested in the 7 Plus when I was previously quite content with my iPhone 6S. But ironically ever since getting the iPhone 7 Plus, guess what? I HAVE NOT USED THE PORTRAIT MODE A SINGLE TIME.

HAHA.

P.S. Yes you need to use the "Portrait" mode to get the front-sharp-back-blurred effect as below:

For a handphone this is pretty damn impressive.

I come from the eras of the original handphones which WERE NOT IN COLOUR.

Then we got colour. Then we got a camera. Then we got a front camera. And the rest is history.

Of course these still can't rival proper DSLRs or even semi-pros, but for a nifty gadget it's not bad.

Anyone who owns a DSLR can tell you how bloody cumbersome it is to lug it around.

In addition.

I have somehow misplaced the charging cable.

Well done to myself...

VIETNAM FOR VIET-NOMS

Flew up to Ho Chi Minh City in March over the weekend for Daphne's birthday trip! In total we were 6 girls on a #girlfriendsphoever trip - Daphne was trying to think of a suitable hashtag & yours truly came up with that. Ok fine it was basically a rip-off of #phoeverfriends.

Here's everything we got up to over the 4 days, chronicled entirely on my iPhone 7 Plus :)

So yeah there I was happily minding my own business watching Moana (after hearing how it's really good & all that; it was slightly underwhelming). Daphne was beside me & she was fiddling with her hand sanitiser when lo & behold... She got the cap open & a shot of hand sanitiser flew out & hit me square in the eye. HOW DOES THIS STUFF HAPPEN TO ME LIKE WHAT ARE THE ODDS.

As you can see my eye is super red & in the beginning it was burning SO BADLY.

I was clutching my face & tearing like crazy. I couldn't open my eye at all!

Me: *rubbing my eye frantically & tearing like mad*

Daphne: "Omg your eyelash extensions!"

Me: "I DON'T CARE"

LOL #priorities...

Speaking of which, check out the size of Daphne's luggage haha. She looks more like she's going on a 3-week long vacation rather than a 4D3N. And yup there's my battered green suitcase which has followed me on so many flights around the world! That's the exact suitcase I used to use even for my 3-week long trips to Europe wtf #packingskillswin.

So there's my outfit OOTD which basically usually involves jeans for practical airplane-seating as well as a cardigan for cold air-conditioning! And featuring Daphne's Rimowa as my prop since my own suitcase looks terrible.

And we got a great recommendation from our hotel for a proper legit hair salon just opposite that was modern & fairly posh, yet cost only S$11 for a hair wash! As someone with very long hair, I hate having to wash it because it's such a drag. A hair treatment at the same salon only costs S$28 or so but unfortunately I didn't get time to do it before I left!

 

After taking a short nap we headed out to explore the surrounding area & one of the restaurants along our road was running an oyster promotion that day! Urban Kitchen & Bar was industrial-chic & pretty affordable for the "poshness". The oysters (both fresh & baked, which I wasn't a fan of) were about S$1 - $1.50 each & I think we got 20 in total or something haha.

Girlfriends L-R: Jacqueline, Daphne, Sheena, myself & Maggie! Missing Rebekah. Think we didn't actually manage to get one picture that had the entire 6-girls #girlfriendsphoever team.

And so the story with my outfit is... I've owned this white top since 2013 & I had no issues fitting into it back then. So I didn't think anything more of it when I chucked it into my suitcase. Then in Vietnam I pulled it on &... I couldn't zip it up. Like, absolutely could not.

So what did I do?

Nothing. I let it be HAHA.
I considered it a "DIY" bareback top since it was zipped up halfway at the back. I simply tucked in the sides so the back became a V-shape. Ingenious right?

At dinner I burst a seam moving slightly. Ok never mind.

Then... a strap almost snapped completely. It was barely hanging by a thread.
WTF. OK TIME TO FACE FACTS.

Had to head back to the hotel to change...................
.................
.................

So after dinner at El Gaucho Steakhouse which is really famous, we headed to Penthouse Rooftop Lounge! It's not actually on a rooftop, nor is it really a lounge lounge. It's pretty much a club.

I'd have to say the Vietnamese really know how to party! The service staff were super attentive & it's so cute how they serve a platter of fruits hahaha. And Singapore banned shisha entirely a few years back. I remember going to Arab Street for shisha back when it was still common.

The next day we got up early-ish & headed to this local restaurant famous for serving crab dishes!

Ok wow the address is kinda difficult; you really need Vietnamese friends lol.

Thuy Restaurant

84 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Đa Kao, Quận 1

The food was really good & the crabmeat was really generous! 

Loved the crabmeat beehoon & spring rolls.

Our friends brought us to this indoor shopping space called The New Playground which was full of lots of really cool shops! Lots of cute clothes & accessories & each shop was well-decorated. Prices were still very reasonable as well, ranging from S$10 - S$40.

The New Playground

26 Lý Tự Trọng, Bến Nghé, Quận 1

Bought quite a few accessories on this trip! Hehe happy.

42 Nguyễn Huệ, Bến Nghé, Quận 1

Have you seen those Vietnamese apartment blocks where every unit is a cafe or boutique?

We stopped at one of those for a tea break! It's pretty nice sitting at the narrow balconies overlooking the bustling streets below.

Grabbed dinner at l'Usine, which is a French restaurant which a super pretty interior!

It's supposed to be quite well-known as well but we found the food to be pretty ordinary cafe fare. Luckily the prices are very reasonable so we ordered A TON of food & ate ourselves silly.

l'Usine

70B Le Loi, District 1

Drinks at Glow, which is a 2-storey rooftop bar overlooking the city! Views here were really nice but cocktails pricey, averaging about S$18 each. And after that it was back to Penthouse! Ok the 2 pictures really look like the difference between your own photos versus tagged photos hahaha.

Lunch the next day at Pizza 4Ps which was really good! This restaurant can get pretty crowded so do consider making a reservation first! Please take into account the popularity of this place.

Again prices were really reasonable & food was great! Their crab pasta is pretty famous & the cheese appetisers above were so good that we reordered them a second time!

Pizza 4Ps

8/15 Le Thanh Ton, District 1

Haha the Vietnamese Dong took some getting used to because their currency runs really large.

And yes wtf I packed 3 pairs of shoes, wore 1, bought 1 at the airport & finally bought 1 more in Ho Chi Minh. So I wound up with 6 pairs of shoes for 4D3N #overkill #HCMFashionWeek

The girls wanted to head out one last time & luckily I had a spare dress to wear. Looks like a party dress but in reality it's just a basic dress from H&M in size 34, a.k.a. too small for me so it became a minidress. We headed out to Qui Cuisine Mixology, which is another famous bar.

22 Lê Thánh Tôn, Bến Nghé, Quận 1

The cocktails were again a bit on the high side though & were very comparable to posher bars in Singapore. This big cocktail bowl came up to S$100 :O

The day of our return we squeezed in another massage (really good & cheap!) + I had my hair washed again! Lunch was also at a recommended restaurant just beside our hotel:

Quan Bui

17a Ngô Văn Năm, Bến Nghé, Quận 1

By the way our hotel was in a great location in District 1, which is basically the centre! There were tons of restaurants around us, everything was within a 10-minute taxi ride & places like Qui Cuisine were even within walking distance. You can consider our hotel if you're travelling to Ho Chi Minh!

Bay Hotel Ho Chih Min

7 Ngô Văn Năm, Bến Nghé, Quận 1

(same group as Bay Hotel Singapore)

Finally it was time to head home... We all departed at different times based on our various work schedules & flights. Luckily I remembered to buy magnets to add to my fridge collection :D I began collecting magnets in perhaps my 2nd or 3rd year flying? Some crew do things like collect a snow globe from each city, or take an exact same picture (same pose but different background)...

And yes I was very pleasantly surprised to bump into a stewardess I had flown with before & she recognised me, so she gave me a little care package. This is something that crew usually do for each other on flights (where one is travelling on holiday of course). And we also have the custom of buying a little token snack/food for the operating crew when we board their flight, but since it was such a short flight (about 2 hours) I thought I needn't bother. Felt a little bad that I had nothing for her or the crew working that day! What we do is maybe buy things like chocolates or snacks like curry puffs, pandan cake, or any local snacks from the destination we just came from. It's just basically a way to thank the crew for serving you today since they're your fellow colleagues.

Being back on a SIA flight definitely made me miss flying a little... aside from the many destinations, I actually really enjoyed the work itself. I loved how everything rolls out like clockwork & I did enjoy making people happy. And even though to a crew this Ho Chi Minh flight is just a turnaround (meaning they don't get to spend a night there), I still missed the actual stewardessing as I watched them work.

If you haven't seen it on my Instagram, I filmed a short video for this Vietnam trip!

That's it for my little Vietnam getaway! It was lots of fun to hang out with all the girls & see a little more of a city that I knew very little of! Quite a few friends were surprised at how fun Ho Chi Minh turned out to be. There's lots of great food, shopping & massages & best of all, prices are comparatively low. Taxis & Ubers are also cheap & easy to get!

Till the next time Vietnam!

<3